Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and the Justice for Greenwood Foundation are pleased to announce the appointment of SRZ founding partner William D. Zabel to the board of the Justice for Greenwood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that seeks truth, justice, and reparations for the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and its over 100 years of continuing harm.

Mr. Zabel’s appointment marks his latest role in a decades-long pursuit of social justice and comes at a pivotal moment for Justice for Greenwood (J4G) as Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ), J4G, and a team of civil and human rights lawyers argued for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a neutral, third-party investigation into the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and its aftermath following the discovery of new mass gravesites in late 2020.  

In addition to his deep experience and the significant pro bono resources he brings through SRZ, Mr. Zabel will be instrumental in raising funds critical to the success of J4G’s mission.

“Organizations like Justice for Greenwood rely upon our advocates within the legal community, bringing expertise and visibility to an injustice that has, for more than a century, remained tragically hidden and unaddressed,” said Damario Solomon-Simmons, Managing Partner, SolomonSimmonsLaw, and Founder, Executive Director, and Chairman of the Board of Justice for Greenwood. “Bill Zabel is one of our strongest proponents and voices, and SRZ’s consistent dedication to our effort to seek justice for the victims of the Massacre has been indispensable. Without a doubt, the success of our movement to date would not have occurred without the considerable support of Bill and his dedicated team of professionals.”

Mr. Zabel, who heads SRZ’s Individual Client Services Group, has spearheaded the firm’s substantial pro bono engagement with J4G and has been a driving force behind the legal profession’s cause for social justice and human rights for more than 50 years. He has received recognition for his advice and advocacy in support of national and global causes, including writing the amicus brief on behalf of the ACLU in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia, serving as the chair of Human Rights First from 2000 to 2020 and is presently chair of Immigrant Justice Corps and establishing a professorship in human rights at his alma mater, Harvard Law School.

“Justice for Greenwood is a model for social justice and human rights, creating a platform that will change the way we understand the Tulsa Race Massacre,” said Mr. Zabel. “Of all the causes I have had the privilege to work on throughout my career, this is the most egregious example of blatant and unresolved racial violence and injustice in our nation’s history. We intend to not only bring justice and closure to the victims of the Massacre, but to put an end to the active, racist measures being taken now to prevent this case from moving forward.”

Mr. Zabel’s pivotal work on the J4G board is in addition to SRZ’s pro bono representation of Justice for Greenwood, supporting its mission to revitalize the Greenwood community through advocacy and direct services to lift the community out of poverty and to address the major areas of inequality and injustice directly caused by the Massacre. SRZ attorneys act as outside general counsel to J4G and SRZ staff also volunteer hundreds of hours to J4G’s Descendant Outreach Project.

Partnering as co-counsel with Mr. Solomon-Simmons, SRZ also represents the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre’s only known three living survivors as well as descendants of victims in the groundbreaking lawsuit Randle v. City of Tulsa et. al. The suit makes the case that the City of Tulsa and others created a public nuisance of racial disparities, economic inequalities, insecurity, and trauma. It also seeks to force the City to directly address the negative conditions in Greenwood that stemmed from the Massacre and to establish a compensation fund for its victims and their descendants.

The Massacre occurred from May 31 through June 1, 1921, when a large White mob, including members of the Tulsa Police Department, the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department and the Oklahoma National Guard, as well as other city and county leaders, destroyed a peaceful, prosperous Black community in North Tulsa (Greenwood), killing hundreds of Black residents, injuring thousands more, burning down over one-thousand homes and businesses, and stealing residents’ personal property, causing damage in today’s dollars of an estimated $200 million.

SRZ is committed to righting the wrongs caused by Tulsa Race Massacre and preserving the true history and narratives of the Greenwood community. To that end, the firm also serves as pro bono counsel to the HB 1775 litigation, challenging the State of Oklahoma’s HB 1775 law, in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. HB 1775 severely restricts public school teachers and students from learning and talking about race and gender in the classroom, undermines students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights to discuss race and gender issues, and prevents open conversations around American history, including the experiences of historically marginalized groups.

Schulte Roth & Zabel is committed to supporting pro bono causes that encourage open discussion and education about race, diversity, civil rights, voting rights, access to justice and human rights. 

About William D. Zabel and Schulte Roth & Zabel

Mr. Zabel is a founding partner of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, formed in 1969 with Paul N. Roth and Stephen J. Schulte. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations.

For more than 50 years, Mr. Zabel has been an advocate for social justice in the United States and abroad. His civic and philanthropic activities have included, among many others, investigating the cases of those who disappeared in Chile during General Augusto Pinochet’s “Dirty War,” volunteer lawyer with Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee in Mississippi during the summer of 1964 and serving as chair of Human Rights First, and the chair of Immigrant Justice Corps.

In 2017, Mr. Zabel established the William D. Zabel ’61 Professorship in Human Rights at Harvard Law School in order to further his commitment to protect the rights of others and to inspire future generations in the cause of human rights.

Mr. Zabel has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Lawyer and has also been honored with the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Award, Brandeis University Distinguished Community Service Award, the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights Extraordinary Leader Award, the Champion for Change Award from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention and the inaugural Robert F. Kennedy Justice Prize from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

About Justice for Greenwood

Justice for Greenwood is a network of volunteers, advocates, attorneys, academics, experts, Massacre Survivors, Descendants and others agitating for reparations & justice on behalf of Survivors and Descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Through direct services, public education, and advocacy, J4G is working to mitigate the effects of the Massacre and its 100 years of continuing harm. The organization’s work aims to revitalize the Greenwood community and to address the major areas of racial inequality and injustice directly caused by the Massacre: Health, Education, Real Estate, and Business. J4G also partners with national civil rights organizations, including Color of Change, Equal Justice Initiative and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, as it pursues transparency, recognition and reparations around the events of May 1921.

Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) is pleased to announce that Laura Angel-Lalanne, Melissa Goldstein, Marnie Grossman, Joseph Reich, Adriana Schwartz and Brian Smith were elected to the firm’s partnership effective January 1, 2022.

SRZ also announces the promotion of Aislinn Affinito, Adam Barazani, Daniel Blumenthal, Dominic De Mello, Drew Miller, Frank Olander, Jessica Romano, John Weldon and Lina Ziurys to special counsel. All are resident in the firm’s New York office with the exceptions of Ms. Goldstein and Ms. Affinito, who practice in Washington, D.C. and Mr. Miller, who is based in London.

“This past year has seen unprecedented activity in the financial services sector, bringing a significant increase in the range of opportunities and the complexity of issues facing our clients,” said David Efron, SRZ co-managing partner and co-head of the Investment Management Group. “Each of these attorneys have been instrumental in helping the firm and our clients stay ahead of these emerging trends and have made significant contributions to their respective industries while maintaining the highest standards of client service,” commented Marc Elovitz, SRZ co-managing partner and chair of the Investment Management Regulatory & Compliance Group. “We could not be more proud of this talented group.”

Partners

Laura Angel-Lalanne represents high-net-worth individual clients in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration, with an emphasis on charitable planning and the administration of trusts and estates with charitable interests. Laura creates sophisticated estate plans for clients, helping them to balance their sometimes competing objectives, particularly for clients who wish to achieve tax efficiencies, benefit family members and ensure a lasting philanthropic legacy. She also assists individual and corporate clients with the creation, administration and operation of private grantmaking foundations, private operating foundations and other philanthropic vehicles and advises both foundations and individual donors with respect to charitable grants and gifts and social impact investments, including negotiating and drafting agreements for complex grants and gifts to museums, universities and other charitable institutions. Additionally, Laura advises public charities, including educational institutions and many of the firm’s pro bono clients, with respect to formation and recognition of tax-exempt status, board governance, best practice policies and procedures, endowment administration, fundraising, corporate sponsorships, planned giving and charitable programs. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Only Make Believe, the Adira Foundation’s Advisory Roundtable and the New York Historical Society’s Planned Giving Advisory Council and is an affiliate member of the Committee on Non-Profit Organizations of the New York City Bar Association. Laura received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she co-chaired the HLS ArtsPanel, and received her B.A., with high honors in linguistics, from the University of Michigan.

Melissa G.R. Goldstein focuses her practice on anti-money laundering and sanctions regulatory compliance matters. She advises banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, funds, insurance companies and money services businesses, including those involved in global e-commerce and virtual currency, on the anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations, rules and related issues governing their investment and business activities. She has particular expertise with issues arising out of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act, the AML Act of 2020 and the Corporate Transparency Act. Prior to joining SRZ, Melissa was an attorney-advisor with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). At FinCEN, Melissa assisted in the development of anti-money laundering regulations and guidance and served as counsel on enforcement actions involving issues such as failure to implement and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering compliance program, failure to register as a money services business and failure to maintain confidentiality of suspicious activity reports. In recognition of her significant accomplishments during her Treasury career, Melissa received the Secretary’s Meritorious Service Award, which honors individuals whose achievements are substantial and significantly advance the Treasury Department’s mission. Melissa is listed in Washington, DC Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star.” Melissa received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and her B.S., with honors, from Cornell University.

Marnie S. Grossman concentrates her practice on representing high net worth individuals in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, family law and charitable giving. Marnie represents her clients in all aspects of their estate planning, with the goal of reducing wealth transfer tax and ensuring that wealth passes in accordance with clients’ wishes. In the area of estate planning, Marnie works with clients to prepare wills, revocable trusts and life insurance trusts, as well as more sophisticated tax structures such as dynasty trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts and qualified personal residence trusts. Marnie also represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all aspects of estate and trust administration. As a personal planning attorney, Marnie has had significant experience representing multigenerational families, focusing on developing estate plans uniquely designed to meet her clients’ wealth transfer and charitable objectives. Marnie received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Duke University.

Joseph Reich focuses his practice on advising private investment funds and public companies on the tax aspects of complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, spinoffs, bankruptcies and restructurings, planning in connection with the preservation and use of tax losses, SPAC transactions, private equity fund structuring, public offerings and other financings. Joseph received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yeshiva University.

Adriana Schwartz practices in the securities law, regulatory and compliance and shareholder activism areas. She counsels clients on a broad range of issues, including in the regulatory areas of Sections 13 and 16, Rule 144, insider trading, order marking and Regulation M/Rule 105. She also represents clients in private investments in public and private companies, including private investments in public equity (PIPEs), registered direct offerings, convertible 144A offerings, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and Regulation S offerings. Adriana earned her J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School and her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Rochester. 

Brian G. Smith focuses his practice in the areas of estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, litigation, family law and charitable giving for high net worth individuals. In the estate planning area, Brian represents clients in implementing complex tax-planning strategies, including, but not limited to, dynasty trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts and life insurance trusts, to reduce the wealth transfer tax paid as a result of transferring wealth to future generations. He also creates traditional wills, revocable trusts and limited liability companies, among other estate planning and corporate vehicles and structures, with respect to his clients’ estate plans. In the estate and trust administration area, Brian supervises fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all aspects of the administration of estates and trusts, including representing clients in audits of their estate tax returns and gift tax returns. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Soul Ryeders and is a former co-chair of the New Members Committee of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Brian received his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was Articles Editor of the St. John’s Law Review, and his B.A. from Duke University.

Special Counsel

Aislinn K. Affinito focuses her practice in the areas of white collar criminal and civil defense, government and internal investigations and commercial litigation on behalf of privately and publicly held companies and their directors and officers, as well as other individual defendants. Aislinn’s practice includes advising clients on white collar and securities compliance, including advising on pre-acquisition and vendor due diligence and corporate compliance programs in connection with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act and MNPI securities requirements. Aislinn also has significant experience representing private investment funds, investment managers and financial institutions in litigation concerning the life settlement asset class. Aislinn received her J.D., cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, a Masters of Environmental Management from Yale University and her B.A. from Duke University.

Adam J. Barazani focuses his practice on the regulation, acquisition and sale of financial services providers, including money transmitters, payment processors and fintech companies. Adam represents and advises leading payments companies and private equity firms in transactional matters and provides guidance to clients on compliance with federal and state banking and consumer finance laws, including multi-state licensing requirements. He also provides guidance on regulatory issues associated with payments products and services, including remittance transfers, prepaid access, digital currencies and internet- and mobile-based payment products and services. In addition, he has experience advising state and federally chartered depository institutions on regulatory, corporate and transactional matters. Adam received his J.D., cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was Senior Articles Editor of St. John’s Law Review, and his B.A. from Emory University.

Daniel J. Blumenthal focuses his practice on the representation of private funds (including hedge funds, private equity funds and hybrid funds) and investment advisers in connection with their structuring, formation and ongoing operational needs and on regulatory and compliance matters. Dan has a diverse practice advising private fund managers that employ a variety of investment strategies and also has broad experience structuring and negotiating seed and strategic investments, advising investment managers regarding the structure and sale of their businesses and structuring and negotiating joint ventures, co-investment vehicles, managed accounts, “funds of one” and other strategic relationships. Dan was named a 2021 “Rising Star” for Investment Funds by Expert Guides and was shortlisted as an IFLR1000 “Rising Star” (Investment Funds) in 2020. Dan previously served on the firm’s Associate Committee. Dan received his J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was Associate Editor of University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from The George Washington University.

Dominic A. De Mello practices in the areas of estate planning and administration, trusts, charitable giving and sophisticated gift and estate tax planning. In addition to representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries on trust and estate matters, Dominic regularly prepares wills, revocable trusts, dynasty trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, life insurance trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, other types of trusts and certain entities.  Also, Dominic represents high-net-worth individuals in the negotiation of prenuptial, postnuptial and separation agreements. Dominic received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, LL.M from New York University School of Law and A.B., cum laude, from Princeton University.

Andrew R. Miller focuses his practice on private investment funds. He represents European and U.S. investment managers and private funds in connection with formation, transactions and compliance. Drew also provides advice to clients on European and U.S. securities law and regulatory matters affecting private funds and their advisers, including compliance with SEC rules and marketing in the United States. Drew received his B.S. from the University of South Carolina and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Executive Notes Editor for The Georgetown Law Journal and a moot court advocate on the Barristers Council.

Frank W. Olander practices in the areas of complex commercial, real estate, bankruptcy and securities litigation in federal and state courts and a variety of alternative dispute resolution venues, including AAA and JAMS arbitrations. Frank has represented public companies, private companies, individuals and financial services industry clients, including financial institutions, hedge funds and private equity funds in a wide range of commercial disputes involving claims for breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent transfer. Frank regularly represents lenders, owners/operators and investors in commercial real estate disputes. He also advises clients in the areas of shareholder activist litigation, M&A litigation and corporate control disputes. Frank received his J.D. from University of Pennsylvania, where he was Senior Editor of University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from University of Pennsylvania.

Jessica Romano focuses her practice on providing guidance to money transmitters, payments companies and other financial institutions on a variety of regulatory issues, including compliance with federal and state banking and consumer finance laws and multi-state licensing requirements, as well as transactional matters. She also advises private equity firms on transactional matters related to the acquisition and sale of payments companies and money transmitters. In addition, she has experience advising investment advisers and private funds on regulatory matters. Jessica received her J.D., summa cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law, where she was Associate Managing Editor of St. John’s Law Review, and her B.S. from Long Island University.

John J. Weldon IV focuses his practice on the representation of private funds (including hedge funds, private equity funds, hybrid funds and funds of funds) and investment advisers in connection with their structuring, formation and ongoing operational needs, general securities laws matters and regulatory and compliance issues. His experience includes structuring and negotiating seed and strategic investments and structuring and negotiating co-investment vehicles, managed accounts, “funds of one,” joint ventures and other strategic relationships. John was named a 2021 “Rising Star” for Investment Funds by IFLR, a 2021 “Rising Star” for Investment Funds by Expert Guides and was shortlisted as a 2020 IFLR1000 “Rising Star” (Investment Funds). John received his J.D., cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law, where he was a member of the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, his M.A. in International Finance and Economics from Brandeis University International Business School and his B.A. from Brandeis University.

Lina E. Ziurys focuses her practice on advising private investment funds and investment advisers in connection with their structuring, formation and ongoing operational needs, as well as on general securities law, regulatory and compliance matters. She advises on all aspects of fund formation, including seed and strategic investments, offering materials and operating agreements, side letters, co-investment vehicles, managed accounts and “funds of one”. Lina represents both institutional and entrepreneurial investment managers of a range of private funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, credit funds and funds of funds. Lina received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, where she was Executive Articles Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review, and her B.A. from Connecticut College.